Can Plants Really Help Control My Home's Temperature? It's Complicated, but These Tricks Will Actually Work

Instead of turning on the AC in summer, or cranking up the thermostat in the winter, just fill your house with plants. Sound too good to be true? Well, it might just be.

Plants have a reputation for helping cool our homes through transpiration — by releasing moisture into the air, however, in our investigation into so-called 'cooling plants', we already found out that while trees and plants help reduce the earth's temperature on a global scale, on a personal level, their effect is pretty negligible. Basically don't expect to fill your living room with plants and have them act as a natural air conditioner.

Yet, there are a few design tricks you can use when it comes to positioning an indoor garden that will make a difference to how hot or cold your home feels — they just might work slightly differently than you expected.

Using Plants as Insulation

Plants, like any matter, can actually be pretty effective for insulating your home. "Use vertical gardens to insulate walls," Anna Vasiltsova, founder of Anna Design LA, recommends. "Install a green wall or vertical garden indoors to provide insulation. The plants create a barrier that helps maintain a consistent indoor temperature."

This is ideal for general living areas such as a lounge or dining area. However, a specific garden room that often has lots of windows and struggles with temperature regulation would benefit greatly from a garden wall.

This trick also works for a 'green roof' planted with the likes of sedum, grasses, or flowers. The plants absorb strong sunlight, reducing the amount of heat that will enter, especially on something like a single-story extension, preventing overheating.

Anna Vasiltsova

Anna Vasiltsova has a design studio in LA. Her approach toward interior design has been heavily inspired by the cities she has lived in. Her philosophy focuses on creating beautiful, comfortable interiors that offer a luxurious living experience.

Filtering Sunlight and Drafts

Another spot where indoor plants could really make a difference is around windows and doors, in a couple of different ways.

"Placing plants in sunlit areas can help absorb some of the sun's energy, reducing heat ingress," explains plant expert Tony O'Neill. Think of your big-leafed indoor trees that don't mind direct sunlight.

"Conversely, during winter, they can offer a slight insulation effect," Tony adds. Using house plants around windows and grouped by doors can create natural draft excluders that can stop your home's temperature from plummeting quite so much in the colder months.

FAQs

Can I Actually Use Plants to Cool or Heat My Home?

"While indoor plants won't replace air conditioning or heating systems, they can complement these systems to create a more comfortable indoor environment," says Tony. It can't hurt, anyway. But what to choose?

"Think of plants like Monstera Deliciosa, Fiddle Leaf Figs (Ficus lyrata), or Rubber Trees (Ficus elastica) as your living air conditioners," Daniela Venturini, art director and trend forecaster at Wayfair, says. "These lush, large-leafed beauties naturally transpire, releasing moisture into the air to lower the temperature."

Now that you've got the lowdown indoor plants for temperature control, what other ways can you use plants in the home? Why not opt for adding structure and style to your home with indoor climbing plants? Or perhaps you want to use bookshelf plants to increase your home's overall aesthetic.

However you choose to style your home with these beauties, ensure you tend to them regularly and give them the care and attention they need.